Glimpses
by The Cosmic Penguin
Summary: This was the end of the road. His 'happy ending'. If Kirby had reached this far and been satisfied, why couldn't he?


Note: This would be placed QUITE a few decades (probably centuries) in the future of the Kirby-verse, but I tried not to make it so that the characters would've been developed in character that much (even though they should be, but...story purposes). _Italics_ are regular thought, _italics and underline_ are flashback/special scene.

And yes, this is _completely_ unedited, and written between classes. The only time I hit backspace was to fix a spelling mistake, so hopefully it's not too rough of a ride.

 **Edit** : I've gone back to touch this thing up...

* * *

Darkness was the only thing he could see.

That last attack…did it destroy the monster? He hoped so; he must have blacked out. It wasn't the best idea to use that move; he knew it could be lethal, but…he just had to hope that he'd make it through. He'd used it before and survived, so he was just in a coma right now, maybe; or perhaps better. He couldn't feel his body, though, which was unusual…he was partially conscious, but he didn't even feel numb or limp. He couldn't feel…anything. He'd thought for a moment that he was in some starry blackness, similar to the starscape inside of him that kept him alive, but he'd made no attempt to explore it…maybe it was just an unconscious effort. But, shouldn't he be seeing all sorts of candy now, if that was the case? He'd felt like he was floating for a bit, when he'd seen that…now he couldn't feel anything at all…

Did he fail? He had to worry about that, even though he probably couldn't move. He wasn't sure if he'd wiped out all the monsters; he dearly hoped that his crew hadn't risked their lives to go back for him if he hadn't…Maybe he had polished off enough to save them, and Javelin Knight had been stocked with some weird injection potion. That had to be.

But…wait, something changed. There was light on the other side of his eyelids, and something warm. He lay there for a few seconds, unsure of whether it was a dream, or if he could really feel something, before finally opening his eyes. He was…floating somewhere, in the same starry blackness as before, but…

He turned toward the light to see a familiar face, and a border of clouds and…he couldn't make out all the details beyond that, but something was there. He twisted around so that he was floating upright, trying to figure out whether the scene in front of him was real. "K…Kirby…?"

The pink puff nodded.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" The sapphire puffball inspected his friend over. "I thought you were dead…and you have the Cupid power-up now? What's…going on…It's a dream, right?"

" _Guys! What happened to Sir Meta Knight?! Tika, is he okay?"_

The blue puff turned in the direction of the voice, startled. Below him, a strange mist had covered a part of the darkness. He could see his crew members and companions running over to…him? What…this had to be a dream, a weird one…Although, his clone looked just as beaten up as he was…

" _Blade-o, Sword-o, I'm so confused!" Tika wailed. "He won't respond to me!"_

He felt guilty. Tika was the youngest of his last crew members. She basically thought he was invincible; it would break her heart if she thought he was dead.

 _Sword and Blade dashed up to their master, with Javelin Knight and the two other newbies, Coola and Zip riding on his arms. All of his new crew had been Waddle Dees, though completely by chance._

" _Sword, get him down," Blade commanded. "I'll help Tika; she might be stuck under that rock."_

He kept observing, until he felt somebody's presence behind him. He turned, only to see that it was Kirby. The pink puff looked somewhat hesitant, but folded his paws.

"I don't think you'll wanna watch this part, Meta," Kirby warned softly.

The sapphire puffball glanced at him, annoyed, before turning back to the scene. "Kirby, I can watch whatever I want. It's not like I'm scared of blood or anything; it's not real—"

" _Guyyys…?" Tika sniffed. "How's Sir Meta? How is he?"_

 _Sword had taken the puff's mask off, though it was mainly in tatters from the last attack he had pulled off. He looked almost sick. "I…I don't know. I don't want to jinx…just, Blade, Javelin, come here."_

 _The duo in question moved closer, both of them feeling their leader over. It seemed almost impossible for him to be alive, but he'd survived worse before…hadn't he, perhaps?_

" _I don't feel his pulse," Blade commented, head jerking up to stare at her companion. "Sword, is he still breathing?"_

" _No." He shook his head. The duo's expressions turned to ones of dread, and they turned toward Javelin Knight. The Waddle Dee trio watched in silence, not saying anything out of fear._

" _You're a robot, Javy," Sword started. "Do something! Can't you tell if he's still alive?"_

The beaten puffball watched the scene closer and closer. Surely, Javelin Knight would—but if an error occurred in front of the Dees, it would break their hearts…

" _Negative. From the results I've gathered, I do not believe the subject is a living being. My sensors may need to be reset." He extended an arm. "Press 'B' to—"_

 _The duo ignored him, panicking, but also noting their hearts dropping in their chests._

" _Sir Meta Knight…?" Sword started. "Is…Are you okay? You can't be—"_

 _Blade checked him over one last time. "I don't think he is…is…"_

Something gnawed at the back of the puff's mind, and he tried to push it back. He drew back from the scene, trembling slightly. "Kirby…this isn't real…is it? I thought…the only time death could be like this was in a fantasy story or somethi—"

He flinched, hugging himself as the Waddle Dees began wailing about him. He turned to Kirby. "You know…don't you? Whether this is a dream or if it's real, right?"

The rose-colored puff frowned as he nodded.

 _My…My dreams are really well-planned out,_ he tried to assure himself. _I—I know that move could kill me, but—_

"I...I used that move before..." he pondered aloud, though that thought in the back of his mind was eating up too much of thought. "This is a dream, and I'm just too meta-up on it. You're going to tell me I'm dead anyway, right?"

"I wanna say that…" Kirby whimpered. "I really want to…but—isn't this a little _too_ well-planned out for a dream? Even outside a prophetic one…"

"Where's my warpstar…?" The sapphire puff started glancing around—and then noticed his current condition. He stopped and stared upon realizing it. His body was torn and muddy, but oddly enough, slowly healing. He looked just like his counterpart in the picture…and in there, his warpstar had been broken, lying on the ground. Coola and Zip were quietly picking up the pieces, trying to gather them and offer them back to Sword and Blade to see if it would do anything.

He glanced up at the pink puff. "Kirby…tell me the truth...or, give me a lie I can see through...I'm just dreaming, right?"

Kirby thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Sorry Meta…It's...not like that…"

"But…no way…that isn't like anything like a dream though…and my mind…how can I…be so coherent…" The blue puff's mind raced as he tried testing it, attempting to confirm that he was dreaming. All his thoughts connected, however.

Could it be...maybe…was this true? He was really dead, now?

 _And just when they needed my help...Wait, I could be dead! Dead! I totally messed this all up! This is the end of the road, and the road's just fallen apart behind me. There's...I really can't go back. I can't believe this! How could this ever happen?_ He drew in his breath, turning back to the scene below. _I won't...be able to go back down and help…_ Tears bordered the puff's eyes as he saw his friends kneeling over his body, still shaking him and checking his pulse as they offered him the broken warpstar, panicking over why it was so dull and wouldn't light up.

This was irreversible, if he'd really died. He couldn't go back, though he wanted to...even though it was only minutes ago that he'd so carelessly thrown his life away, thinking he could be happy giving his life for his friends...instead, he'd just made them cry. They were upset, and he'd known that...but he never imagined they'd feel _this_ horrible, and he never imagined he'd feel this _guilty_ about it.

They were crying over _him..._

His white eyes widened slightly, and his voice quieted. "…Is this really…reality? Am… _Did_ I die…?"

He couldn't control his body like normal when he used to wake himself up from certain nightmares…And this all fit together so nicely, so logically that would mean he was—No, it couldn't—His mind flew into a panic as the truth he'd pushed aside came flooding over him.

 _I did, didn't I…Wait, I died! I'm really dead and I can't go back! What will they all do now against those monsters…I died and I can't help them! This is real, and_ _ **I really blew it! Meta, you're such an idiot!**_

The rose-colored puffball took his friend into a gentle hug as the other puff let himself go limp, sobbing freely. Kirby softly brushed the dirt off the sapphire puff's back, his friend's tears rinsing the dirt off both of their bodies. It was quite fortunate that they were alone for the moment, but even if there had been others in the background, there probably would have been no difference in the blue puffball's misery. The pink puff was silent through his friend's incoherent wails of despair, waiting until he eventually calmed down somewhat, but still noting that he could easily set him off again.

"Can't I…go back?" The once-so-serious puffball looked like a child who was told he couldn't have a piece of candy. "That's how it went in the stories…I didn't get to tell them everything I wanted to before I died…There's _gotta_ be a way…"

"There's really nothing you can do," the pink puff said guiltily. "You're allowed to leave them a note, but you can only say so much on a piece of paper."

The sapphire puffball was silent, glancing back down at the scene below them.

" _Guys…? You're…you're lying, aren't you?"_

The wounds on his wings had started to heal ever-so-slightly, before they stopped abruptly.

" _He can't be gone…he…We just have to go to a hospital—!"_

" _Tika, calm down." Sword waved his hand in exhaustion. "He's gone. He…He probably knew that, too…"_

 _No…No I didn't!_

" _I guess that's…just how it is. What makes life so special…is that you only have so much of it, huh…" _

The beaten puffball felt as if he could break down crying again. Instead, his eyes narrowed, and he turned halfway away from his pink friend.

"Kirby, it's not fair! None of this is! How can you be so resigned?! You were the strongest of us all!" he shouted angrily. The sapphire puffball took a deep breath before continuing his thought, and then wishing he hadn't.

"You can't…have just given up, can you…?" he whispered, all the fatigue in his body rushing back. His eyes fell back toward the scene with his crew, purposefully avoiding looking at Kirby.

"All things end eventually, Meta. This is supposed to be our happy ending." The pink puff tilted his head, frowning, but understanding of his friend's pain. "You can't go back, so you may as well be happy. You should be satisfied. Come on, I thought _you_ were supposed to be the insightful one; what's wrong with you now? Well, outside the obvious, but...you should still be happy." He started to smile again. "You did so much good stuff for people; that's how I'm happy!"

"I _can't_ be! How _can_ I?!" The other puff shouted, half wailing. "There's…so much that I didn't do—! Couldn't I just have five more minutes?! That's all I need to wrap things up!" He was starting to panic now, as he realized his friends were beginning to openly state that he was dead, and that time was running out. "Kirby! You have to let me go back! Someone, anyone can—!"

"Did everybody get to be a superhero? Did everyone get to wield magic powers in their life, or get their first crush to like them?" Kirby crossed his arms, becoming somewhat more serious. "Of course not. You just can't get everything done in life that you wanted to. I didn't get to do everything I wanted before I left, either."

"You don't understand, Kirby..." The sapphire puff clenched his paws. "All I want is a few last words to my crew, to say the things I'd been waiting to say before I died...I never imagined I would have died like this!"

Kirby blinked. "I thought you did. I remember you telling me one time that physical harm or sickness was really the only way we could die, and you were prepared for either of them."

Clearly, this hit Meta Knight with a bit of force. The blue puffball clearly looked surprised, trying to recall these memories that certainly _sounded_ like something he'd say...but were too ugly of something to think about right now.

Why had he held back on telling his crewmates these things, anyway...? It was mainly simple appreciations for them, and how grateful he was for them. He liked saving those sorts of things for rare occasions, so that sentiments weren't overused...but now that he thought about it, that didn't really work too well with his death. He always thought he'd have room for some last few words when he died...

 _Guess not._

It still made him feel terrible. More than terrible, even. His loyal crewmates were down there crying over him, stating that he'd changed their lives, and he even exchange these sentiments; that they'd helped him, as well. He could have said these things earlier; it's not like they would have—but, they might have thought he was going soft or something, or just being too emotional or sentimental...

 _Coward...You should've just done it; better sooner than later! I thought **you** were the one who said to 'plan in case there IS no 'later'!'_

"I..." he started, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "...didn't expect things...to turn out like this...I certainly didn't expect to be one-shotted, with no last words...that's really all I wanted..."

It was a lie. He wanted so much more than that, now that he was dead...but, those few last words would have erased a lot of guilt off his heart. Kirby placed his paw on his friend's shoulder, the touch slowly calming him down.

"Hey, some people wouldn't have said anything important, or they wouldn't have said something because they were scared. But it's okay. Life won't stop because you're gone." He took the sapphire puff's paw. "It's just the beginning. It's just like a new chapter, or a new chapter book. It's not the end, Meta...Come on, can't you think of some examples like we used to?"

"Yeah, yeah. Happy ending and all that." The blue puff was somewhat distracted, still thinking about what life would be like now…and what life was like before. Did he really want to leave all that behind? _Could_ he? He was dead, so it wasn't like he had much choice...but there had to be some way to get back; he still remembered…No, this couldn't be the end...he wouldn't let—no, he _couldn't_ let it be!

"I know I have a note, supposedly, but…I don't want to go on wherever I have to…" he whispered, staring at his friend. The sapphire puff sounded sad, but looked scared. "I don't want to _accept_ this; I want to go _back_!" He brushed some newly-forming tears out of his eyes. "I can say for sure that that's what I want...And even after what you've told me about death…" Kirby flinched, noting that his friend didn't discriminate when it came to reality and touchy subjects and stating words like 'death' when somebody had died, in this case _him_. "...You basically said that I can't do anything! Are we helpless to do anything? You know I don't like being helpless, Kirby, and…I want to go back, dangit! I just can't do this, or move on or whatever, after I've lived so long! Why does it have to _end_ this way…?"

Kirby sensed that his friend was in pretty deep misery, so he decided to try doing something to help. The black abyss over the edge of the clouds had already disappeared, and the duo warped back to the edge of Orange Ocean. It looked pretty much the same as it always had, with its timeless sunset and Kirby smiled, watching as his friend noticed the change, blinking and gaping in astonishment.

"Remember all the fun we had here, Meta? With Dedede, and Bandana Dee, and the others?"

He could tell almost instantly that he'd hit a sensitive spot, and wondered if he should've started out that way. The sapphire puffball hugged himself with his arms, staring around his familiar home with a frown. "Of course. Dedede…Bandana Dee…Sailor Dee…You honestly think I would forget them? And..." His tone became quieter once again, and he turned toward Kirby. "...They're gone too…right? I can't…see them again, can I…I'm stuck here…I have no idea what happened to them, or if I can even see them here...or if I'll be able to see _you_ after this..."

"You aren't stuck, Meta..." Kirby offered, unsure of how to continue, but trying his best to guess. The sapphire puff blinked, swallowing the lump in his throat. He took a quick breath.

"I…I know what you're trying to say, Kirby…"

The pink puff grinned, remembering his friend's tone of voice. It was the same tone that he used whenever he was suspicious or annoyed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all—

"You're trapping me. If I'm dead or if I'm alive, I lose someone either way, don't I?"

At first, his expression was merely one of irritation. However, it soon changed as he realized what he'd said. He turned away from his friend slowly, and started walking along the beach. Kirby watched him, following at a distance where he could still hear him. The blue puffball stopped at a barrel raft tied to the shore, and climbed onto it using the slippery wooden ladder that had hastily been nailed on. Kirby used his wings to fly over to him instead, landing softly behind him.

"I suppose you're right…I'm pretty much dead. There isn't anything anyone can do about it…" he began slowly, glaring at the water. "There isn't anything… _I_ …can do about it, is there…I'm just doomed, either way, to forget someone…"

The thought made his mind ice over, but he still tried to take the time to think of some good times, in case he forgot them...

* * *

" _Ehem. I am…King Dedede of Dream Land, famous comedian." The penguin was standing on part of the ruins, but he didn't seem to care about anything except putting on a show for the puffballs and his servant. "And I must say, I'm SO good, if you don't get my jokes, you'll die, 'cause I'll MAKE you laugh!"_

" _Sailor Dee! We won!" he cheered, grabbing the programmer by his paws. The two couldn't help but childishly swing around in circles. "A galaxy-wide competition and we WON!"_

" _Kaabii, no…you're so immature…" The blue puffball sighed irritably. "Nobody will hire you with a lackluster transformation like that! Let me show you how to do a REAL transformation, one that will win over kings!"_

" _Aw, Sir Meta Knight…" Sword and Blade drew him in closer as they all hugged each other. "I don't care what you look like. You're you; that doesn't matter! You shouldn't have to lie about that."_

" _Meta, I know…" Bandana Dee was clearly troubled, even though they were on holiday vacation. "I know you live forever, and I don't, so I want to make sure we spend some good times together, okay?_ _I don't want you to care about what anybody else might think of you, whether it be snowball fights or something else immature, because…_ _I don't want you thinking about…all the things we could have done, after I'm gone…"_

" _I love you, Sir Meta Knight!" Tika was the first to embrace him, followed by the other two Dees. "You're our hero!"_

* * *

His face fell as he realized what exactly he'd been thinking about. His body trembled.

"My friends who are still alive…and all the memories we had here; _my_ memories…what will happen to them…?" This was probably some of the most depressing hypothesizing he'd ever done, for obvious reasons. _I lived here for so long…I don't want to forget it; how can I...forget them like they were nothing?!_ His body slumped, and he grasped his paws together. "What will I...Must I really leave everything behind...?"

He didn't _want_ to risk forgetting everything important to him, even if he _would_ be happy...He would never trade his memories for uncertain happiness, even if he had to be miserable like now instead...He had no idea what was going to happen, but he couldn't avoid or back out of _any_ of this, and that was terrifying. In some ways, it was even more depressing than the possibility that his friends forgetting about him now that he was dead...He didn't care about that; he wanted to keep living his life the way he always had, or at least pretending...He couldn't do that if he couldn't remember anything!

The puff collapsed on the barrel raft, tears starting to flow down his face again to meet the salty water below him. He couldn't change anything; it was possible that everything he cared for would be taken away from him, and there was nothing he could do. He was unwilling to let the past slip away from him…but helpless to do anything about it. He couldn't think of any choice he had where he'd truly be happy...but what did he do? What _could_ he do here?

Kirby walked over to him slowly, waiting until his friend's sobs had died down somewhat. His body was almost completely healed, outside of his wings. As the sapphire puff glanced up, he stared at the setting sun, and the piles of gears and machine parts next to his ship. The area started to pale.

"I don't _have_ to forget all of this…do I…?" he asked despairingly, at the end of all his thought trails. This was possibly one of the things that held him back the most, what burdened him so badly, now that his lack of last words had the potential 'letter' fix...

Kirby hugged his friend, and the blue puffball gladly returned the action. "You don't have to forget all this, Meta…You never have to forget any of this, I promise…I don't like to lie, 'cause you said that was important, remember?"

The duo clung to each other desperately as the scene slowly faded, the duo ending back up floating along the edge of the clouds. The sapphire puffball steadied himself, having fully thought things through at this point, but still untrusting of the conclusion. He sifted through his memories in suspicion, still uncertain when he found he could recall mostly everything. After a long stretch of silence, his thoughts finally sorted themselves out into some sort of temporary acceptance. His sadness slowly floated away, but wasn't replaced with any identifiable feeling. He met his companion's eyes, hoping for an explanation.

"You'll see them again, too, sometime," Kirby offered, as the last wisps of the ocean fog disappeared.

"Right." The blue puff placed his hand on his cheek, still somewhat uncertain. "I'll…I'll see them again. Not that I'm dead; we'll just...see each other again…"

The pink puff smiled. "You'll understand. You just need a little time."

"Yeah, thanks, Kirby…" The pink puff could tell that he said that out of formality; he was clearly still lost in his thoughts. The sapphire puffball was glancing at his feet, noticing how they, and the rest of his body, had healed. He frowned. "I guess this…really is the end, huh…"

"Aw, Meta…you're losing it again…" Kirby teased gently. "But if you want to go by your logic, you really just need to follow me and think things over, okay?"

The blue puff stared as his friend offered him a paw, meeting his onyx eyes uncertainly.

"Come on…just take my paw. It won't hurt, I promise…"

The duo just floated there for a while, with Kirby waiting as his friend thought things over, trying to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Eventually, he sighed. "You got me, Kirby. I just need some time to think about things."

The pink puff smiled. "It's not so bad, Meta. I've been talking with all our friends. C'mon, let me show you them, or you can see my new house…something happy…"

Ever so slowly, the sapphire puff took his friend's paw. He closed his eyes, feeling his body become flooded with warmth. "Kirby… should I open my eyes?"

The pink puff was unsure of how to answer, so he just grinned awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, I guess whenever you want." He watched his friend blink slowly, letting go of Kirby's paw so he could stare at his own, his eyes flashing in recognition as he sifted through past memories of him doing the same thing. "Aw, Meta…it's okay. Don't think about those things right now…at least sit down first, or get a better view of things…" He placed a paw on his friend's cheek, finally gaining his attention. "It's gonna be okay. I didn't want to do this, either. But everything's okay now, all right?"

The sapphire puffball thought things through a final time before nodding and following Kirby, still glancing over his shoulder as they left their meeting place further behind them.

"Yeah…everything will be all right…"

* * *

E/N: Meta Knight's dialogue is no longer as cringeworthy. Whew, what a relief. But he still **did** just die, so I'm sure he's not thinking about using 'companion' over 'friend'. Although, I think he used 'friend' over 'companion' in the anime, anyway, so what am I complaining about? Though, it'd probably help if you imagined Meta Knight with a more puffball-esque voice tone instead of his deeper one, 'specially if you look at the picture below.

Although...I could've poked into thought process a little more and that would've really made the story outstanding, but this was already getting lengthy. Perhaps I'll revisit it someday and finalize it; make it the best it can be, but for now...I'll keep the length as to refrain from scaring off readers.

Inspired by this picture:

mikoto-chan . deviantart art/007-Heaven-110003869

For once I actually stuck to the picture details (excluding the puffs in the background) instead of just using it as a springboard; see if you can pick them out.

Heheh, I'm making progress...check off the box that says 'kill story character with attachment'!

I should be cruel and do one with Meta's crew in that scene...I dunno, I probably wouldn't unless you guys found that interesting, and I've already pretty much torn Meta's heart to shreds... Whaddya think? Want more heartwrenching with different characters?


End file.
